A self-governing British Overseas Territory with its own lawsWhat Bermuda has with the
UK is a colonial relationship which costs the Bermuda taxpayers $2 million a year. It is for the upkeep of the palatial
Government House and its 30-plus pristine acres - at a time when land is at a premium in Bermuda - and for the Governor and Deputy Governor's salary and their cars, their security, their travel, their housekeepers and their maidservants.
Bermuda and the other Overseas Territories have a new
British Minister looking after their affairs. Gillian Merron MP was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Ms Merron who was elected MP for Lincoln in 1997 has done a string of junior Government jobs, most recently she did a ten-month stint in the Department for International Development. She has also been a Government Whip and an Assistant Government Whip, as well as Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minister for Defence Procurement and the Minister for the Armed Forces.
The Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda is appointed by The Queen (on the advice of the British Government in London) after consultation with the Premier of Bermuda.
The Governor of Bermuda from December 2007 is career diplomat Sir Richard Gozney, former British High Commissioner in Nigeria and Her Majesty's Non-Resident Ambassador to the Republic of Benin and the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. Sir Richard has worked in Argentina, Indonesia and Swaziland and at the Foreign Commonwealth Office as Head of Section for NATO nuclear arms control, Principal Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary and Head of Security Policy Department. He was awarded the Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2006. He graduated from St Edmund Hall at the University of Oxford in 1973 with a Bachelors in Geology. His wife is Lady Diana Gozney. They live at Government House, 11 Langton Hill, Pembroke HM 13 phone 441 292-1271, Governor's Office Fax 441 292 2256. Until he arrived, Deputy Governor Mark Capes (Deputy Governor's Office Fax 441 292 1913, acted as Governor. The Governor from April 2002 to October 12, 2007 was Sir John Vereker. His wife Judy - Lady Vereker - was a native Washingtonian.
His Excellency the Governor has his own Flag of Office. It is a Union Jack but in its center it has the Bermuda arms on a white disc encircled by a green garland. Uniforms for the Governor are made in London by Davies & Sons. They include a full dress blue and tropical cotton drill. It is based on old British military Field Marshals, with a white pith helmet with dyed scarlet swan's feathers plumage and Mameluke sword by Wilkinson Sword. The price of about $10,000 is met by the British Government. The official car used by the Governor features a crown instead of a license plate, with extra large width, length and horsepower by Bermuda standards and the Governor's Flag.
The main challenge for a Bermuda Governor is to balance two sometimes contradictory functions. First, he is the primary source of information from Bermuda to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the state of affairs in Bermuda. Second, he is the voice of the United Kingdom and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for advising Bermudians what they can and cannot do under British/United Kingdom laws. The salaries of the Governor, Deputy Governor and their staff are paid by Bermuda's taxpayers, NOT the British Government. Bermuda, despite its tiny size, is wealthy enough not to need the support from the United Kingdom some other overseas territories get.
The duties of the Deputy Governor include being an ex-officio notary public who can perform or notarize anything on behalf of the Bermuda Government but may not receive a fee for this service. He is married, with 2 grown-up daughters overseas and a dog. He served as a British diplomat in Belgium, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Jordan, Nigeria, Austria, Turks and Caicos and most recently Anguilla. From 1994-1999 he was First Secretary
Economic and Environment in New Zealand before becoming Deputy Governor in Anguilla. During his most recent spell in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, from 1999 to 2002, Mr. Capes was Deputy Head of Parliamentary Relations and Devolution Department, in which capacity he also served as Foreign Affairs Advisor to the UK Branch of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
His Excellency the Governor has his own Flag of Office. It is a Union Jack but in its center it has the Bermuda arms on a white disc encircled by a green garland. Uniforms for the Governor are made in London by Davies & Sons. They include a full dress blue and tropical cotton drill. It is based on old British military Field Marshals, with a white pith helmet with dyed scarlet swan's feathers plumage and Mameluke sword by Wilkinson Sword. The price of about $10,000 is met by the British Government. The official car used by the Governor features a crown instead of a license plate, with extra large width, length and horsepower by Bermuda standards and the Governor's Flag.
The main challenge for a Bermuda Governor is to balance two sometimes contradictory functions. First, he is the primary source of information from Bermuda to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the state of affairs in Bermuda. Second, he is the voice of the United Kingdom and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for advising Bermudians what they can and cannot do under British/United Kingdom laws. The salaries of the Governor, Deputy Governor and their staff are paid by Bermuda's taxpayers, NOT the British Government. Bermuda, despite its tiny size, is wealthy enough not to need the
support from the United Kingdom some other overseas territories get.
The Deputy Governor's office includes being an ex-officio notary public who can perform or notarize anything on behalf of the Bermuda Government but may not receive a fee for this service. Mark Capes is married, with 2 grown-up daughters overseas and a dog. He served as a British diplomat in Belgium, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Jordan, Nigeria, Austria, Turks and Caicos and most recently Anguilla. From 1994-1999 he was First Secretary Economic and Environment in New Zealand before becoming Deputy Governor in Anguilla. During his most recent spell in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, from 1999 to 2002, Mr. Capes was Deputy Head of Parliamentary Relations and Devolution Department, in which capacity he also served as Foreign Affairs Advisor to the UK Branch of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
The Governor and Deputy Governor have direct access to security advice in Washington DC and London from senior British representatives.
One of the functions of the British Governor is to read the Throne Speech. In Britain, the Queen reads the speech and in British Commonwealth countries, Governors or Governors General do.
The Government of Bermuda is self governing (except for defense, external affairs and internal security) - independent of the United Kingdom in all internal matters and with its own set of laws. The same applies in the Channel Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Brechou, Great Sark, Little Sark, Herm, Jethou and Lihou) of Great Britain, near France and Isle of Man between Britain and Ireland.
Many Americans visiting Bermuda assume, wrongly, that British-UK laws apply. They do not. Bermuda laws do and are much more restrictive to non-nationals than any British, USA, Canadian, Caribbean, Australian, New Zealand and other democratic country laws.
Bermudians since 21 May 2002 can get full British/EC passports and British citizenship virtually automatically, usually within a month and without any of the requirements and lengthy delays for non-British people living in the UK to get citizenship. Nor do they have to sear allegiance as do new UK citizens living in the UK. Also, they can live and work in UK and any EC country; buy any property they can afford; can register there to vote immediately and can do so in any UK or EC election; and if they physically live in the UK instead of returning to Bermuda on holiday, can get internal UK educational fees and more. But Bermuda does not come under EC laws. UK nationals should note that British laws do not apply in Bermuda, Bermudian laws do; Britons and European Economic Community (EEC) citizens do not have any of the same rights to live, be domiciled, be employed and retire here as they do in the United Kingdom or EEC. For those who want to work in Bermuda, Work Permits apply just as much in every way to Britons and Europeans as to Philippine nationals or Mongolians. Britons who are not also Bermudians have none of the rights that Bermudians in the UK now have if they apply for UK passports. It was the UK Government - and presumably the EEC too - that approved quite recently that Bermudians could have, on application, a UK passport and be treated as full UK nationals in every other way, but that Britons in Bermuda who are not also Bermudian would not have reciprocal rights.
About 66% of the resident population of Bermuda is black. About 33% are white or other races.
In 1977, possible political independence for Bermuda from the UK was first reviewed comprehensively in a Green Paper, followed by a White Paper stating Government's view Bermuda was not ready. Bermudians rejected political independence on August 16, 1995 in a national referendum. In 1995, the great majority of those who participated in the 1995 referendum felt there were no economic benefits, only potential additional liabilities costly to bear, especially with the huge burden Bermuda taxpayers (and visitors) already have to bear for 47 politicians in less than 21 square miles and civil servants amounting to more than 15 percent of the entire workforce. Bermuda was the first British Commonwealth country to have a referendum on independence under the previous Bermuda Government. But it was boycotted by the Progressive Labour Party (the Bermuda Government since November 1998) and the results may not be accurate. It is not likely the present Bermuda Government will go this same democratic route. Based on what current PLP politicians and pundits are saying, independence is a foregone conclusion. But none say what the cost will be to Bermuda taxpayers of an already hugely inflated cost of government by international standards.
In January 2005, the latest unofficial poll, taken among a small group of people, suggests that more than 60% of the population are not in favor of independence. Not stated in the poll or in any comments or press columns to date on possible independence is whether both those voting for independence and those against have thought of the implications of complying with current UN, USA, Canada, UK and European Community
fundamental Human Rights requirements relating to citizenship, namely citizenship after 3 years if married to a Bermudian, 5 years otherwise, similar to what the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, other major countries, Grenada and other Caribbean islands offer. (Currently, citizenship for a non-Bermudian spouse is after 10 years of marriage to a Bermudian and no further citizenships are given to non-Bermudians with no Bermudian spouse, or children born there when neither parent is Bermudian. In most countries which are members of the UN, citizenship applies automatically to every child born there).
A Bermuda Independence
Commission, Bermuda Government established in 2004, published in September 2005 a 600-page report as public opinion on political independence. The Premier has gone on record as saying he does not want a referendum on the topic, he expects the legislature to adopt it.
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